Budweiser is stirring up an old controversy that made customers and craft brewers furious (BUD)

pulse

May 23, 2017 8:55 PM

Budweiser is bringing back its "America" cans and bottles this summer.

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Budweiser is bringing back its "America" cans and bottles this summer.

On Tuesday, Budweiser announced it will once again sell cans and bottles with "patriotic packaging" — swapping the name "Budweiser" for "America," as well as debuting a new design that covers bottles with camouflage. The new camo packaging will be available from now until July 4 weekend.

Budweiser is donating a portion up to $1 million of the profits from the bottles that are sold from May 22 to 29 to military non-profit Folds of Honor.

When Budweiser announced plans to erase its own name from packaging and replace it with "America" in May 2016, the campaign was polarizing — in part because, while Budweiser is brewed in the US, Budweiser's parent company AB InBev is based in Belgium.

"Frankly, Budweiser calling itself 'America' is the most un-American thing I’ve observed in quite a while," Will McCameron, president and co-owner of the Greenville, South Carolina microbrewery Brewery 85, wrote in a blog post on craft beer website Brew Studs.

"Don’t come to me bitching about the state of the American economy with a can of Bud in your hand," the post continued.

Budweiser and AB InBev have received backlash for acquiring various craft brew brands, most recently the Asheville, North Carolina-based Wicked Weed brewery. The company announced in mid-May that it plans to invest $2 billion in US brewing by 2020.

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